Wildfires now destroy twice as much tree cover per year as two decades ago – a crisis fuelled by climate change

The world is losing forests to fire at an unsustainable rate, experts have warned.

Wildfires have always been part of nature’s cycle, but in recent decades their scale, frequency and intensity in carbon-rich forests have surged.

The explosive popularity of the gay hockey TV drama reveals women’s desire for sex and romance without violence or hierarchy

The first time gay hockey romance crossed Mary’s radar, she was warned off it. A 64-year-old non-profit executive from Toronto, Mary recalled mentioning the Canadian author Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series to her son, a twentysomething queer writer and fellow hockey-obsessive, a few years ago.

“I said: ‘Have you heard of these books?’ and he said: ‘Yeah.’ I said: ‘Should I read these books?’ And he said: ‘No. They’re not for you.’”

There’s no need to buy new – unless your model’s ready for retirement. Our technology expert compares the top Apple smartwatches available right now

• The best running watches – tested

The best Apple Watch may be the one already on your wrist.

Each generation of Apple’s smartwatch is fairly iterative, with most of the best features added via software updates, which means there’s no need to buy a new device each year. That said, if your watch has seen better days, or it’s stopped receiving updates, then your best options are set out below.

Best Apple Watch for most people:
SE 3

Best mid-range Apple Watch:
Series 11

With debate still swirling over the unlikable nature of Marty Supreme’s careless protagonist, Guardian writers have picked their all-time love-to-hate leads

Spoilers ahead

I can remember seeing As Good As It Gets in theaters as a teenager and being pleasantly startled by the sight of Jack Nicholson’s Melvin Udall, romcom super grouch. Here’s a bestselling romance author who disdains love, an OCD sufferer who weaponizes his affliction, a New Yorker who hates crowds (who can’t relate?). In one scene, an adoring fan asks Melvin his secret to writing women. “I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability,” he says, an epic burn forever seared in my brain. Of course Melvin’s anti-charm offensive only goes so far in a James L Brooks project. Before long, the rudeness erodes as Melvin is forced on to a journey of self-discovery with the nextdoor neighbor he can’t abide (Greg Kinnear) and the diner waitress he can’t live without (Helen Hunt). Melvin comes out a changed man in the end, but retains the essence of his super grouch-dom. That was the moment I fell in love with the writer’s life. Andrew Lawrence

Biopic charting Naseem Hamed’s rise has reopened old wounds but is also a reminder of what was and what might have been

The first time I watched Prince Naseem Hamed train, my jaw couldn’t have dropped any faster if he had hit me with one of his lassoing uppercuts. I had followed all his fights on TV, of course. But to see him in the flesh in September 1994, a year before he became world champion, was an altogether more visceral and mesmeric experience.

Hamed’s punches sounded like firecrackers welcoming in the new year as they smashed into the pads. He was almost impossible to hit. And, most staggering of all, despite standing 5ft 4in tall and weighing only nine stone, he would bully far bigger men in sparring – including fighters such as John Keeton, who went on to become the British cruiserweight champion – until my great uncle, Brendan Ingle, called time.

The irreverent approach of the Colombian hotline Jacarandas has made it the most-followed abortion account on social media in the Spanish-speaking world

What do a purple cartoon cat and abortion have in common? Nothing – and that is the point, say the women behind Jacarandas, a Colombian abortion helpline. Determined to set themselves apart from more traditional reproductive health organisations, Jacarandas commissions street and graphic artists to create eye-catching illustrations – most recently a cartoon feline called Gataranda, inspired by the team’s much-loved office pet.

The aim is not to make light of abortion but to appeal to the teenagers and young women who use Jacarandas’ services. “A lot of people do not connect with [an image of] the uterus on fire, so we thought ‘what can we do to connect more with young women?’” says Carolina Benítez Mendoza, the deputy director.

Shadow home office minister Alicia Kearns says unredacted plans show 208 secret rooms and approving plans would be ‘insanity’

Q: Why are the Liberal Democrats still using X?

Davey says he is not afraid to pick a fight with Elon Musk. He says Musk has interfered in British democracy “in the most outrageous way”. Musk has also incited violence, he says.

I’ve picked a few fights with Elon Musk because I think he has interfered in British democracy in the most outrageous way. He’s incited violence and I have called in the past for investigations into him.

The point about Grok – which is quite shocking – and what it is doing, and the danger that it poses to women in the UK, to our children, is quite shocking. We need to take it really seriously.

Nine governors including Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey and ECB’s Christine Lagarde say independence is critical

• Business live – latest updates

Global central banks have issued an extraordinary joint statement offering “full solidarity” to the US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, in the face of the latest threat to his independence from Donald Trump’s White House.

“The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve. It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability,” the statement said.

UN rights chief says ‘killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop’ as Iranian official tells Reuters around 2,000 have died

• Trump says countries doing business with Iran face 25% tariff on US trade

• People in Iran: share your views on the current situation

Non-essential French embassy staff have left Iran, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Agence France-Presse. The personnel left on Sunday and Monday, the sources added, without saying how many people had departed. “The protection of our personnel and our citizens is a priority,” a French foreign ministry official told AFP.

Commenting on the protests, the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said:

This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard.

Select committee chair accuses UK tax authority of ‘egregious error’ and of causing parents unnecessary ‘pain’

• UK politics live – latest updates

Seven in 10 parents who had child benefit suspended in an HMRC fraud crackdown last year were in fact legitimate beneficiaries who had not emigrated, the tax authority has revealed.

The chief executive of HMRC, John-Paul Marks, told the Treasury select committee that 71% of those targeted, higher than the 63% previously admitted, were in error.